Man of my Dreams
by jamiewalsh
Summary: Ariadne and Arthur find it very difficult to stay away...


DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters or plot lines of Inception. I would, however, love to own Joseph Gordon Levitt.

The first time Ariadne walked into the workshop, Arthur rolled his eyes. Of all the architects Cobb could have chosen, he picked an infant? But Arthur trusted his partner and treated her kindly. _My, her hands are soft,_ he though as he shook her hand. He hooked them up to the machine and sat down to read.

She woke up suddenly after only a few minutes, unfamiliar with the idea of dying in a dream and coming back to reality. He felt almost powerful knowing that he had things to teach to someone younger.

The first odd feeling came when she woke up the second time after they went under again. She sat up suddenly, sweating and panting, clearly in fear. He couldn't help but dive to her side to see what he could do. She was babbling about not being able to wake up, and he calmly explained that she had more time on the clock and couldn't wake up until she died.

"That's some subconscious you have, Cobb! She's a real charmer!" she yelled after Cobb, who had bolted from the room.

"Ah, I see you met Mrs. Cobb," Arthur explained as he unhooked her from the machine.

As Ariadne ranted about Cobb having issues, he realized how truly pretty she was. Arthur also couldn't help but marvel at her feistiness. He had to respect someone with such strong thoughts. He felt a strange sense of longing as she left, vowing to never be part of the operation.

"She'll be back," Cobb told Arthur later.

_I certainly hope so._

_###_

The small cough behind him made his heart falter. She had returned after all.

_I must be out of my mind to be doing this,_ Ariadne thought as she walked with Arthur around the strange building filled with what he called "paradoxical architecture." The good part was that she could learn from the experts like Arthur. He was so passionate about what he worked with; it was difficult to ignore that kind of fervor.

She finally asked the question that had been on her mind for the past few days: "Is that why Cobb can't build anymore?"

_Why is she asking about Cobb?_ Arthur wondered. A pang of jealousy shot through him, but he pushed past it. Their conversation came to Cobb's wife and Arthur told her about the sad news of her passing.

"What was she like?" Ariadne asked in honest curiosity.

"She was lovely."

###

_Lovely in what way? _Ariadne thought. A pang of jealousy shot through her. But despite this small distraction, she noticed his eyes as he looked at her, towering almost a foot over her. They were blue; she liked them.

###

"Ariadne?"

The young woman didn't even move at her name.

Yes, she was out for the count. Or, out for the dream, he should say. Arthur laughed at his dry little joke and pulled his chair forward to monitor her.

She had another five minutes on the clock, giving her a whole hour in her dream. If he could only jump into her head to see what she was seeing… Maybe she's envisioning graduating and being on her own. Maybe she's imagining what she could do with the money from Saito. Maybe she's fantasizing she's at lunch with a handsome gentleman…

A sudden jealous twinge hit him in his stomach. _No, it's probably not the last one_, he thought immediately. _Hopefully it's not._

He put his head in his hands and looked at the floor. These thoughts had been coming far too often lately. He had to shake them and get rid of them altogether. And yet…

He looked up at the girl lying in front of him, oblivious to his unhealthy thoughts of her. She had a small smile on her face as she slept, a small tendril of her hair slipping out of its bun to land on her cheek. He reached forward and pushed it behind her ear, his fingers resting a moment too long on her cheek.

_No. You can't do this, Arthur. She's too young._ The reminding thoughts for why they would never work out started right away, like clockwork. He always had to remember that there were so many reasons why they couldn't be together. He hated it, but he knew it was better for their business, as well as their partners and themselves, that there are no romantic issues.

Another three minutes. He still had three minutes to get a hold of himself. He shook his head and straightened out the machine Ariadne was connected to, knowing it was only to occupy himself. He leaned back and twiddled his thumbs for the first time in his life. _Must keep busy. Must keep myself busy._

She was quite beautiful. He knew she was young. He knew they couldn't be together. But she was asleep. She had no way of knowing he was looking at her intently, no way of knowing if he touched her hand, no way of knowing if he leaned forward slowly to gently kiss her, like he was now…

Her lips were soft; the kiss was rather odd, of course, since she was unconscious, but it was as close as they could get, so he accepted it. He deepened it in passion, resting his hand on her cheek fully, leaning forward…

Arthur may be brilliant, but he looked past one thing: he overestimated the strength of the chairs in the workshop.

The chair folded over and sent them both tumbling. The kick snapped Ariadne back to reality and she leaped up. "What the hell happened?"

Arthur, still in shock, didn't know what to say. He stood and straightened his tie, then checked that the machine wasn't broken. "I thought something was wrong, but when I checked on you, I accidentally kicked the chair and we both fell," he finally managed. He turned to look at her and she shook her head. "I can hook you up for another few minutes if you want," he offered, but she shook her head again.

"No, I'm alright. I should head out anyway." She grabbed her bag from the desk. "You staying?"

"Yeah, for a little bit. I have some… things to think about." He turned away ashamedly.

"Okay, see you later." She turned to leave, unaware of his look of longing as she walked out the door.

###

"He hasn't called me in three days. I just don't know what to think," Rachelle was complaining in the background. Working too hard on mazes (she had to practice somehow) to fully pay attention, Ariadne just nodded and agreed with her roommate during her story.

"But I'm trying not to think about it, it'll just bum me out." Rachelle suddenly sat straight up. "I'll just live vicariously through you in the meantime. What about you? Any guys?"

Ariadne was prepared to pull out her usual answer of no, but something made her pause. Something she had tried to push out of her head…

"Oh my gosh, who is he? You paused. You so paused! Is he in class with you? Where'd you meet? What's his name?"

"No, there's no guy. There's never a guy, you should know that by now."

"Then why'd you pause? Do you like someone?"

Again, Ariadne didn't know how to respond. "I guess. Maybe. A little. But he doesn't feel the same. Even if he did, nothing can come of it."

"Is he from class?" Rachelle repeated.

"No. He's actually older than us."

She had only recently started looking at Arthur differently. He was nerdy and smart as anything and kind, all the things that Rachelle would probably scoff at, but to Ariadne, it was almost…sexy.

"Ooo, intrigue. I gotta meet him now."

"No, it would complicate things. I kind of work with him…"

"What, on that internship thing?"

"Yeah…" For obvious reasons, she couldn't exactly tell Rachelle about the actual project she was working so hard on.

"What's he like? At least tell me that!"

Ariadne put her notebook aside and turned off her bedside lamp. She snuggled down under her covers and really thought about Arthur. She hated being the girl who immediately saw a guy's looks, but she had to admit that she had instantly been attracted to him. Not that she'd ever confess that to Rachelle… "He's… really hard-working. He plans things out to perfection and never realizes that his work at 50 percent is amazing too. He's one of the few guys who's not intimidated by my occasional oddness; he just laughs with me. And he wears a tie all the time and he straightens it absentmindedly a lot and it's adorable." She didn't realize how much she more she liked about Arthur than just his looks. She couldn't stop listing everything. She could've gone on for a while if Rachelle hadn't stopped her.

"Girl… you've fallen hard. I can tell."

It was a simple statement, but it forced Ariadne to accept the truth. "Yes. Yes I have."

###

She came back to the workshop after her hard day of work a few weeks later, hoping desperately that someone else would be there. She had a good feeling, and her spirits were high as she walked up the stairs. He wasn't at his desk, she saw, as her stomach knotted. She had been so sure…

But she found him in her area, staring intently at the wall with all of her sketches and blueprints. She knocked on the hollow column as she approached, causing the deep sound to echo throughout the workshop. He turned suddenly, blushing at being caught snooping. She couldn't help but smile; he looked so handsome.

"I thought I was alone," he said briefly.

"You were until about a minute ago. I just stopped by to see if there was anything I had left behind before we leave for Sydney tomorrow." She awkwardly slipped her fingers in her back pocket and approached slowly.

"Same here."

"Great minds think alike." He smiled at that and bowed his head quickly. She blushed and walked the short distance to stand by him. They looked at her sketch wall together in comfortable silence.

"I was just admiring your work," he finally said. "It's amazing how you've laid out these alternate worlds."

"Thank you," she replied gratefully. "I had hoped you'd like them."

"Indeed I do. I have to admit, I was critical at first of Cobb's choice for an architect. I thought maybe you were too young, but you've been the best architect we've had." He looked down at her with a strange look in his eyes. One of…passion? She returned the look with the same admiration.

"Thank you." She didn't know what else to say.

"And your sculptures…" he added, turning to the table behind them. "They're something else too. I especially like this one," indicating the multi-floor layout of the hotel.

"Yeah, I wanted that one to be most in depth, since it's the middle layer. If we succeed in getting to the third layer, I think we'll have a good chance at the inception, but we need to get past the second layer to get to that point." She blushed yet again. "Gosh, I must sound like such a nerd."

"Not at all. You sound enthusiastic about your work. As you should be," he mentioned at the end.

"That's how I thought you sounded when you taught me about paradoxical architecture. So genuinely excited about your job and what you do. I guess it's contagious." She smiled up at him, thrilled to see that he had already been looking at her. The look on his face was serious, though, like he was realizing something for the first time. Her smile faded too and she looked back, locked on his deep eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her, catching her by ecstatic surprise.

###

Arthur knew he shouldn't, but he ignored his inner monologue. He couldn't ignore it. He knew what he wanted, and it was the young woman standing before him.

He expected a push, or even a slap; maybe even a punch if she felt that violated. But instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck like she'd wanted him to do it all along. He circled his arms around her back and drew her in close. _So this is what total contentment feels like._

He pushed forward slightly, resting his hands on the table behind her and pushing her back against it. Barely noticing, she wrapped her leg around both of his and simply deepened the kiss. Both knew they should stop, but neither wanted to.

He bent her back entirely, laying her back on the table. His mouth left hers and kissed her neck up and down as his hands held her waist in place. She moaned slightly and he snapped back to reality. He stood up very suddenly and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pushing up onto her arms. "Did I do something?"

"No. No, it has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." He turned away from her, ashamed of what he'd done.

"But I wanted you to," was all she said and it almost made him rejoin her.

It was quiet for only a few moments, but it felt like hours to both of them. He finally turned back to her.

"We can't do this," he said softly.

She sat up all the way, still leaning against the table. "Why not?"

He turned around and took her hands. "What if something were to happen to you? We'd be in the same situation as Cobb and Mal. I have enough trouble getting you out of my head, I can't be missing you too."

She seemed sad, but he knew it had to be said. She took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. You're completely right." She took her hands back and turned to leave.

"Ariadne."

She paused for a moment, and turned against her better judgment. She knew she'd feel sick when she saw him.

He smiled quickly. "I really do care for you."

She couldn't help but smile slightly. "I really care for you." She shrugged and left without looking back. She never saw Arthur kick the table in frustration, then sit down with his head in his hands.

###

She didn't look at him as he got on the plane after her. Not only because she wasn't supposed to, but because she'd probably get a goofy look on her face looking at him and the other team members could never know. She instead focused and remembered the task ahead of them. _We can do this._

_###_

He was rather hurt that she didn't look up when he came on the plane after her, but he was proud that she was doing what she was supposed to do. _She's focused. I need to be too. We can do this._

_###_

They had made it to the second level of the dream, and they sat in the hotel that they had marveled at the other day. Of course Arthur and Ariadne were teamed up, because they couldn't possibly be left untortured for the day by the universe.

"Why are they all looking at us?" Ariadne asked.

"Fischer now knows he's dreaming, so his subconscious is looking for the invader. Quick, give me a kiss," Arthur replied.

She knew they shouldn't, but she leaned forward to meet his lips for a brief kiss. When she pulled back, she saw it hadn't worked. "They're still looking at us."

"Yeah, it was worth a shot. C'mon, we should go." He smirked and stood up, grabbing his briefcase from the floor beside them.

Ariadne smiled, unable to ignore his adorableness. _I guess that's one way to steal kisses._

_###_

Arthur knew he shouldn't have done it, but he figured they could at least make the best of the slightly scary situation.

He was able to control himself very well throughout this entire scenario; he was on better behavior than he had ever been. His strength was tested though, when he went to room 491 to set the charges. _Oh no. A bed,_ he thought as they entered the room. He shoved the unholy notions from his head and did what he had to do.

###

In the van, under the water, they shared an oxygen tank. He would've given his total share of the air, though, from his relief that she had made it. He was terrified the entire time in the hotel that something bad was going to happen to her, but here she was, safe and sound and sitting beside him on the rocky shore beside the river they had plunged into.

He smiled as he saw her trying to hail a taxi outside LAX. She looked tired considering they had been sleeping for ten hours on the flight. He strolled up beside her.

"Cobb thinks this will be our last job," he said, breaking the ice. "He just wanted to get home and now he is."

"Looks like we're unemployed now," Ariadne said, smirking.

"Yeah, but it does mean one good thing."

"Oh? What's that?"

"We don't have to worry about anything between us ruining our work." He looked down to beam at her, making her blush and look away.

He smiled at her embarrassment. "What hotel are you staying at?"

"The Holiday Inn Express in Rosemead on San Gabriel Boulevard. It's my favorite hotel; I always stay there when I come to the states. You?"

"The Crowne Plaza in Commerce on East Telegraph Road."

"Sounds swanky."

"It's not as fancy as the name sounds, but I like it. It will be boring though… I'll probably just hang by the pool and read." He paused for a moment. "It'd be nice to have some company though…" He slowly glanced at her to see if she caught his drift.

Indeed she did. "Is that an invitation?"

"Yes, it was. We can take in a movie, get some dinner… Have a first date of sorts."

She grinned from ear to ear and turned so he wouldn't see. "We'll see. Maybe if nothing good is on television and the pool is too crowded and I'm not too tired, I'll give you a call."

Shaking his head, he simply replied, "Fine," and held up his arm for a cab as well.

###

His phone rang as soon as he got settled into his room. "Hello?" he answered, not even noting the number on the outside.

"What room are you in?" He recognized the voice right away and he grinned.

"Nothing good on TV?" he teased.

"There's plenty on, but I decided I'd prefer your company any day." Arthur could almost hear her smile over the phone.

"When will you get here?"

She laughed. "I'm in the lobby."

###

Her eyes snapped open and she saw darkness at first. As her eyes adjusted, she saw the workshop around her and realized she had fallen asleep at her desk. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. God, what a weird dream. She had denied any thoughts that she was attracted to Arthur, but she was. She couldn't ignore it anymore. But if only he liked her back like he had in her dream.

###

Arthur walked along the bridge swiftly, but calmly. Such a myriad of emotions flowed through him over what he'd done. Disbelief that it had been relatively successful. Disappointment in himself for doing it at all. Excitement over what could happen if the idea grew like he hoped. Nervousness that she would realize what had happened.

But he ultimately thought it was worth it. He had always believed that inception was impossible, but he was willing to take that risk to be with her. She was something else entirely and he felt like he truly needed her in his life.

His phone suddenly vibrated and he saw it was from the phone in the workshop. "Hello?" he asked as he answered.

"Hey… it's Ariadne."


End file.
